not with dull edges
or even vibrant colors
but with a constant pull -
a craving
to breathe again,
to remember what it was
she didn't want to forget,
where just beyond her reach
was forever,
and it was enough
just to breathe again.

Darkness morphs into a sliver of light
opens on a stained glass kaleidoscope -
patterns shift, rise, fall like we did last night,
I'm in over my head.  Throw me a rope.
Dangle me just at the edge, hang on tight
an empty vessel lost, if not for hope.
Secrets crash on a shore of skeletons,
bones picked clean by circumstance undone.

Coffee brewing
reminds me of your
bittersweet, coffee-tinged
kisses.

Rain beating
a steady rhythm on the roof
takes me back to those
gentle movements

when we seemed
as one

when each kiss
breathed life into the next,
every touch
was a moment
lost in you.

Now and then,
in equal parts,
your memory burns
and soothes.

I see the fire burning
feel the flames lick my body
I hear the thunderous roar
taste the acrid smoke in my lungs
I smell the rotten flesh
of compromised character
your skewed senses
melt and drip
into molten hurdles
I leap over,
running,
until I cough out your carcass.

Ideals conjured
from unrealistic dreams
shapeshift in the dark
***** in the shadows
carve indelible
wounds
on your heart,
your soul
until you realize
you're all alone
out of step
out of time.

I held on
to every golden word
that spilled from your lips
until your malfunctioning mouth
frayed my heart
and I called disconnect.

Holding onto forgotten memories
fragmented by time,
tucked away neatly at first
and then haphazardly
as if they're less important,
you revisit them like old friends,
careful not to stir any pain still
clinging to the deepest parts of you.
Even as the pieces crumble, they fall
into place like a puzzle -
the worried corner of a dream,
a water-stained wish,
distorted faces behind shattered hope.
When you sift through the remains,
not much is salvageable in the cobwebs
your mind has weaved.